ESPN’s Allen suggests that fantasy hockey players ‘wait and watch’ the Red Wings’ goaltenders

ESPN’s fantasy hockey writer, one Sean Allen, suggests that hockey poolies should “wait and watch” as to whether the Red Wings’ goaltenders might turn out to be good picks for your fantasy hockey team:

Detroit Red Wings

2023-24 season

• Ville Husso: 20.6% crease share, 17.2 fantasy points (29 years, 216 days)
• James Reimer: 27.5% crease share, 43.4 fantasy points (36 years, 178 days)
• Alex Lyon: 50.8% crease share, 80.6 fantasy points (31 years, 274 days)
• Michael Hutchinson: 1.2% crease share, 0.6 fantasy points (34 years, 192 days)

2024-25 roster

• Jack Campbell: 5.42% crease share (with EDM), -8.6 fantasy points (32 years, 244 days)
• Ville Husso
• Alex Lyon
• Cam Talbot: 63.38% crease share (with LAK), 135.2 fantasy points (37 years, 67 days)

Among all the Red Wings goaltenders from last season as well as the ones available this coming season, only Talbot finished with enough fantasy points to be among the relevant goaltenders in 2023-24. And the fact he finished 10th overall comes with a huge asterisk, as his stats fell off a cliff when the calendar flipped to 2024 (27th among goaltenders from Jan. 1 onward).

Surely some kind of tandem will emerge here between Talbot, Husso, Lyon and maybe even Campbell. But perhaps the bigger question is whether the Red Wings take a big enough step forward overall to provide the requisite wins required for the production of fantasy points. There is something positive to be said for all of these suitors: Talbot has finished among the top 12 goaltenders in three of the past four seasons; Husso is eight years younger and two seasons removed from a 15th overall finish (in a season in which his crease share was just 47.7%); Lyon has had some positive stretches in the past two seasons, though hasn’t put it all together; and even Campbell was a top-12 goaltender in both 2020-21 and 2021-22.

I don’t think I’m trying to draft any of them out of the gate, but the Wings will be worth watching in October for signs of life in the crease.

Continued; we’re all going to be waiting and watching as the Red Wings’ goaltending sorts itself out.